Guards dread summer at overcrowded prisons

As the days warm up, most West Australians find a way of keeping cool.

But, for thousands of inmates living in un-airconditioned prison cells across the state, the nights are hot and sticky.

The situation is made worse by many having to 'double bunk', ie two or sometimes even three people are crammed into a cell designed for one.

The Prison Officers Union says cramming 4,951 prisoners into facilities designed to hold 3,670 leads to inmates becoming fractious and hard to manage, and it will escalate in summer.

Over the last month, five prison guards needed medical attention after being assaulted by prisoners.

One officer had suspected broken bones and serious muscle damage after being knocked to the ground by an inmate, while another guard was punched in the head at Hakea Prison.

And, three officers were assaulted while trying to break up a fight between prisoners at Greenough Regional Prison.

The union's John Welch says staff are at risk, and unless the State Government does more to deal with overcrowding, it's only a matter of time before the next serious incident.

"If you shoehorn prisoners into small spaces that were never designed for that amount of people it puts stress on people," he said.

"On a very simple and human level, if you've got two people in a small, hot cell with a single toilet and no discretion in terms of going to the toilet, it has an enormous impact."It becomes a much more dangerous position for prisoners and for prison staff to manage.

"Prisoners are far more likely to become violent or lay hands on staff."

In 2010, a 56-year-old prison officer received life threatening injuries when he was stabbed in the neck with a sharpened toilet brush during a rampage at Hakea Prison.

Grim picture

Figures from the Department of Corrective Services show the disparity between the number of inmates the state's prisons were designed to hold and the actual number of prisoners.

Acacia Prison, the state's largest all-male facility, privately run by security company Serco, is designed to hold 750 men, but currently houses 1,000.

The designed operational capacity of Hakea Prison, a minimum to maximum security all male-facility, is 617 yet at last count, it held 869.

Bandyup Women's prison is designed to house 183 but figures show there are 291 inmates.

In fact, 14 of the state's 16 prisons are holding more inmates than they were designed to.

The Director of Custodial Services, Neil Morgan, released a report into Roebourne Regional Prison, designed to hold 116 inmates but housing 168, that paints a grim picture of daily life behind bars in the Pilbara.

In it, Mr Morgan warns of the 'dehumanising effects of overcrowding and inadequate climate control' at the facility.

"The climate in Roebourne is harsh and conditions in the cramped and non-air-conditioned cells are both degrading and a risk to health," he said.

He reported that cells were 'intolerable and inhumane', infested with rodents and bunks were broken and unsafe.

His report into Bunbury Regional Prison in January also highlights problems.

It's a facility designed to hold 223 but now housing 324, which Mr Morgan said 'by nationally accepted benchmarks' is 'seriously overcrowded.'

"Around 70 per cent of prisoners are required to share cells which were never intended to be shared and the prison has an occupancy rate of around 145 per cent," he said.

He says the consequences of overcrowding at Bunbury have been significant.

"Increased numbers above what the prison accepts as normal have destabilised what has historically been a manageable environment with a stable and settled prisoner population," he said.

Mr Morgan described a breakdown in relations between prisoners as well as between inmates and staff because of the tensions caused by double bunking.

He also reported an increase in violence in the prison since the last inspection.

His June report into Broome Regional Prison, which houses 121 despite being built for 66, tells a similar story.

"Conditions at the prison remain confined and restrictive," he reported.

"In the male minimum security area, which is the least restrictive but most overcrowded part of the prison, it is not uncommon for six and sometimes more prisoners to be sharing hot, cramped cells.

"The maximum decent capacity of which would be three people."

Operational capacity

When the ABC asked the Minister for Corrective Services, Murray Cowper, if there was a problem with overcrowding in WA Prisons, his office issued a statement from the Minister saying the union had got its facts wrong.

"The majority of prisons are below their operational capacity," he said."It is a reality that there is double bunking, we run a prison system not a holiday camp."

John Welch says the government is playing with words by using the term 'operational capacity' to conceal overcrowding from the public.

"To simply say, a prison designed for 390 can hold 600 because that's how many people you can squash into it, and then suggest you are not overcrowded because you are under that 600, is simply ludicrous," he said.

In his report into Bunbury Prison, Mr Morgan was equally critical of the department's use of the term operational capacity to define the numbers of inmates a prison can hold.

"Euphemisms such as operational capacity should not hide the fact that the prison is overcrowded," he said.

"And, the consequences of this overcrowding are significant."

Mr Cowper says the State Government continues to invest in the WA's prisons.

"The Liberal-National Government has committed an unprecedented $655 million to add 2,661 beds and build our prison infrastructure throughout the state," he said.

"In the past two weeks alone, this Government has added 230 beds to the system with the opening of the 150-bed West Kimberley Regional Prison and the 80-bed Wandoo Re-integration Facility.

"As prisoners move into these new facilities, it will help to reduce prisoner numbers at existing facilities."

The extra beds will not alleviate the overcrowding, according to Mr Welch.

"The actual situation today is that we have a prison system designed for around 3,670, and about 4,951 prisoners," he said.

"Even with the opening of the West Kimberly Regional Prison, we will still have a serious issue with overcrowding, it just isn't enough."

And, the consequences can be severe.

Impacts

Gerry Georgatos, from The Human Rights Alliance in WA, says overcrowding has a severe impact on prisoners' mental health.

'With overcrowding, conditions are much worse so that obviously affects people's well-being," he said.

"There is a reduced prisoner to staff ratio.

"It means that prisoners have reduced access to all kinds of services and facilities, including healthcare, training and counselling."

"What we have here is a warehouse of mental illness.

"We see clinical depression, self harm, suicide because of the despair and the dejection.

"They have no hope in that environment."

Mr Welch says he fears the consequences of allowing overcrowding to continue.

'I'm worried we will have to wait until a prison officer is killed before the Government admits to overcrowding in our prison system and starts to take it seriously," he said.

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